Endeavour Kicks Off Farewell Tour of Space Shuttles

The space shuttle program will begin marking off milestones as the fleet prepares for its final year before hitting the mothballs. The first of five flights in 2010 kicks off with a final night launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Feb. 7 on a mission to the International Space Station to deliver the Tranquility node, the final module of the U.S. portion of the space station.

With the space shuttle fleet currently scheduled for retirement at the end
of the year, Endeavour begins the farewell tour with a Feb. 7 launch from
NASA's Kennedy Space
Center, headed to the International
Space Shuttle. Five shuttle missions are planned in 2010; the last flight is
currently targeted for launch in September.

The flight will be Endeavour's 24th mission and the 33rd shuttle flight
dedicated to station assembly and maintenance. Liftoff is planned for 4:39 a.m. EST, making it the final scheduled
space shuttle night launch.

Endeavour's primary mission will be the delivery of the Tranquility node, the
final module of the U.S.
portion of the space station. Tranquility will provide additional room for crew
members and many of the space station's life support and environmental control
systems. Attached to the node is a cupola that houses a robotic control station
and has seven windows to provide a panoramic view of Earth, celestial objects and
visiting spacecraft.

After the node and cupola are added, the orbiting laboratory will be about 90
percent complete.

Tranquility was built for NASA by Thales Alenia Space in Turin,
Italy, under contract to
the ESA (European Space Agency). Although Tranquility
was actually delivered in May, NASA did not officially take possession until
Nov. 30.

Spanning about 22 feet in length and 14 feet in diameter, Tranquility's
connection point on the station will be on the Earth-facing side of the Unity
node. The new component will provide an additional docking point for space
shuttles and other crew vehicles visiting the station.

According to NASA, the cupola's windows will be more than decoration. "As
more cargo vehicles begin frequenting the space station, the station's robotic
arm is going to be called into action to capture some of them as they approach
and guide them into their docking port," NASA said in a news release June 19, 2009. The cupola will
provide additional views for those operations.

NASA has been touting the delivery of the Tranquility mode and its attached
cupola for several months.

"This flight will, I think, grab the public's attention," Kirk Shireman,
ISS program deputy manager, said in June 2009. "It's just going to be a
really, really neat module for those on board. The dream of being able to go
out and just have an unencumbered view of space-we'll have it. You can open up
all the windows and look around and really feel like you're out
there."